Music legend Livingston Taylor comes to Steel City

Celebrating his fifth decade as one of folk music’s most treasured artists, Livingston Taylor continues to enjoy the praise of his musical contemporaries and the undying loyalty of his fans.

Despite having written and recorded such classics as “First Time Love,” “I will Be In Love With You,” “Carolina Day,” “I’ll Come Running” and “Get Out of Bed,” large scale commercial success has nevertheless eluded him.

With 17 album releases to his credit, Taylor has begun work on what he expects to be a summer album release, his first since 2010.

“It has been a while since I’ve had a record out,” says Taylor. “I’m in the studio working on a new record, and I’m very excited about that. It will be four or five new songs and a smattering of songs that have been in the drawer that I’ve been dying to record. With the dissolving of the record industry and the fact that a CD release is far from what it was 10 or 15 years ago, it allows a certain freedom to do the things you want to do.

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“The career ramifications of doing a CD release aren’t anywhere near what they once were. Now, everybody has access to recording and mechanisms to distribute the recordings they make. It essentially devalues all of it. These projects tend to take on a life of their own,” added Taylor. “You assemble the pieces and stand back and watch what life bubbles up. It will become what it wants to be.”

Born in Boston, Taylor was raised in Chapel Hill, N.C., where his father was dean of the Medical School at the University of North Carolina, and spent a brief period of time attending the Westtown School in nearby West Chester.

While struggling with depression during his early years, Taylor gravitated toward the guitar as a means of therapy. Following his formal schooling, he embarked on a career in music and soon became a fixture in Boston’s club and coffeehouse circuit.

Eventually discovered by record producer and music journalist Jon Landau (who would later manage Bruce Springsteen), Taylor signed with Capricorn Records in 1970. He soon released a self-titled debut album and the single “Carolina Day.” His follow-up albums, ”Liv” (1971) and “Over The Rainbow” (1973), yielded two more singles respectively - “Get out of Bed” and “Over the Rainbow.”

In 1978, Taylor released his most commercial album to date, “Three Way Mirror,” which contained his biggest selling single and signature song, “I Will Be in Love with You.” Taylor’s rising musical stature as an accomplished recording artist soon found him performing as the opening act for Fleetwood Mac and Jimmy Buffett as well as on Linda Ronstadt’s 1978 “Living in the USA” concert tour.

In recent years, Taylor has continued to perform hundreds of concerts while releasing various collections of live, compilation and studio albums, including “Man’s Best Friend” (1980), “Life Is Good” (1988), “Our Turn To Dance” (1993), “Good Friends” (1993), “Unsolicited Material” (1994), “Bicycle” (1996), “Ink” (1997), “Carolina Day: The Livingston Taylor Collection” (1998), “Snapshot: Live At The Iron Horse” (1999), “20th Century Masters-The Millennium Collection: The Best of Livingston Taylor” (2005), “There You Are Again” (2005) and “Last Alaska Moon” (2010).

Taylor’s “Man’s Best Friend” album yielded the single “Pajamas,” a children’s song that became a fan favorite and was later adapted into a successful children’s book.

In a program designed to mentor aspiring young musicians, Taylor was enlisted as an artist-in-residence at Harvard College from 2000 to 2006. Soon afterward, he was appointed as a full professor at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where he continues to teach courses on stage performance and serves as a vice president in the development office.

“I’m delighted to work with these people,” says Taylor. “Their careers would move forward whether they ran into me or not. I have no illusion that I’m molding them. I have them with me because they’re good. I’m good in my genre. So it is very good for them to be able to see that — give them a sense of how I do it and make it their own.”

Taylor has never lost sight of the simplistic element that is the foundation of the special relationship he enjoys with his fans.

“As to the people that come and hear me play; my sense is that we are, above all else, comfortable in one another’s presence,” says Taylor. “That’s what you should be with a best friend — quietly comfortable. It is certainly how I feel about my audience and the knowledge that their presence and our affection for one another is the most important thing to me. The music is a carrier for the relationship. I was able to touch the last lucrative days in music and have a wonderful time in them.”

Livingston Taylor, with special guest Chelsea Berry, performs this Sunday at Steel City Coffee House, 203 Bridge St., Phoenixville, at 8 p.m.. Tickets are $40/advance $42/ day of show and can be purchased on line at www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com or by calling 610-933-4043.

About the Author

A Philadelphia based music journalist for over 30 years, Rob has interviewed, reviewed and photographed hundreds of well-known musicians and athletes. Working with almost every major music venue in the Philadelphia area, his writing has appeared in a variety of entertainment publications and newspapers. His work can frequently be found in print and on the web in the 21st Century Media newspapers. Rob resides in Phoenixville, Pa. Reach the author at (Unknown address)
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